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The 360° Energy Diet has compelled us to ponder our impact on the earth and increase our efforts to reduce it. Although the actions are personal above all, we shall not ignore effects we can have on our entourage. Undoubtedly, we can’t dissociate our environmental impacts from those businesses where we get our food, clothes and fuel. Thus, what can we accomplish by rethinking our relations with our suppliers?

Just like all consumers, we unconsciously put a certain pressure on the various providers. We prefer buying eco-responsible brands, sometimes certified, sometimes not. In most shops, we don’t ask any questions about their direct efforts to reduce their environmental impacts but we should. For this week’s challenge, we decide to ask more questions and to direct our purchases accordingly.

At the Christmas tree market (it’s soon to be Christmas!), we ensured the trees were cultivated responsibly. At the grocery store, the banking institution, our favorite restaurant; we shall ask what efforts are made. We are going to play our part of responsible consumers — and express our desires.

Another way to influence our local providers is to research the good eco labels. A good variety exists in most markets. Although these new apparitions are good news, it is hard to distinguish the serious ones from the more doubtful. Some are created by an enterprise for its own brand while others are sustained by affiliated organization or manage by totally independent groups. There’s no strict rule to regulate ecolabels in Canada. For us, the major criteria orienting our choices is the transparency of available information for consumers since in most cases, it’s impossible to discern the good eco-responsible choice from the bad one.

We also want to salute the initiative of Zetika, a social enterprise who provide consumers’ relevant and accessible information and alternatives to overconsumption. There’s even a special section for Christmas! With they’re new Zetiboutik, you can also purchase ecoresponsible products straight from Internet. We even heard the owner say that due to the demand, they will soon offer offsetting options from the website… stay tuned!

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About the 360º Energy Diet

Households around the world have gone on a life-changing mission to lower their carbon footprints. Our bloggers shared their experiences as they made lifestyle changes both large and small. You can join too: Register at the link above and track your results.

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Your Energy Diet Calendar

Starting a diet can be daunting. Will you feel deprived? Can you stick to all the changes you make? If the whole 360º Energy Diet seems daunting to you, try taking things month-by-month with this calendar.